In August of the sixth year of Wei Huangchu, Cao Pi established Taixue, made the method of the Five Classics Examination, and placed Dr. Gu Liang in the Spring and Autumn Period.

At the ceremony, Cao Pi personally presented a congratulatory gift for the reopening of Taixue.

Now after the Jiupin Zhongzheng system, the Hanmen, Haoqiang, and Xiaoshi families have a way to enter the office, and Cao Wei's support will naturally rise.

And Cao Pi's reopening of Taixue is to stabilize this relationship.

What are the admission requirements for Taixue?

Children of officials.

There is even a school rule directly in Cao Wei Taixue, and students who enter the school are only allowed to be ranked according to their age, not according to the size of their father's and brother's official positions.

It seems to be a good school rule, but it also reflects that only the children of officials can enter Taixue.

After that, these people continued to serve as officials, inheriting the position of their father and brother. Such as Zhong Hui, the son of Zhong Xuan, and Cheng Xiao, the grandson of Cheng Yu, etc.

So in the final analysis, Cao Pi's original intention in setting up Taixue was actually to continue to expand his relationship with small and medium-sized families and powerful and poor families in exchange for their support.

For this reason, even after the establishment of Taixue, it was opposed by the great family.

Many big families are reluctant to take out the family classics and put them into Taixue, and the Taixue students are all children of the powerful, and many of them come to avoid military service, and their will to learn is not high.

Therefore, Taixue in the Cao Wei period has not been very ideal, and it has not reached Cao Pi's intention to win over small and medium-sized families and help him expand the scale of talents.

However, this is all later, at least now Cao Pi is still in high spirits, wanting to run Taixue and strengthen his rule over Cao Wei.

The opening ceremony of Taixue began with a sacrifice, and hundreds of Taixue students were bustling with the audience, under the leadership of the sacrificial officer, to carry out various sacrificial activities and pray to the sons of the sages.

Cao Pi had already made incense before, and now he sat on it, looked at the sacrificial ceremony below and smiled, and said happily to the doctor of Taixue beside him: "Today, I am full of talents in the Great Wei, and all the sons and disciples have entered Taixue, so why not succeed in the great cause." ”

Le Shen was not so optimistic, but just arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, although all the sons and disciples have entered the Taixue. But it is said that the family is not good at studying, and there are very few really capable children. ”

"Oh?"

Cao Pi frowned and said, "Why is this?" ”

Le explained in detail: "Because there are fewer Taixue classics, there are not many collections, and all major families have family traditions, they pay more attention to family learning than Taixue. ”

"Ugh."

Hearing this, Cao Pi sighed, slammed the table and said, "How did Taixue prosper at the beginning?" Emperor Ling collected books from all over the world, placed in Hongdu Pavilion, Lantai, Biyong, Dongguan, Stone Room, Xuanming, Taixue and other places, among which Taixue was particularly numerous, and it was ordered that Lu Zhi, Ma Riyan, Cai Yong, Yang Biao, Han Shuo and others collate Confucian classics together, publish the scriptures and texts, and engrave the Taixue Stone Classics. It's a pity that Dong Thief caught fire and burned it. ”

This is a very sad place.

During the period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, Confucianism flourished, because the scriptures of the world were widely collected in Taixue, so Taixue was the place that Confucian students in the world yearned for. Many people are studying in Taixue, and later on the day when the Taixue stone scripture was carved, the carriage at the gate of Taixue took more than 1,000 taels a day, filling the streets, causing a sensation throughout the country, which can be described as prosperous.

As a result, Dong Zhuo burned most of the books in Luoyang with a fire, and even if Cai Yong rescued him, he only took a small part away, and later Cao Cao asked Cai Wenji to memorize many lost classics, which was for this reason.

Now Cao Pi has set up Taixue again, but the collection of books in it is far less brilliant than it was at the beginning.

As a famous literary scholar in the late Han and early Wei dynasties, Cao Pi read the scriptures and was familiar with the hundred schools of thought, so he naturally felt a pity for these burned scriptures, and he also hated Dong Zhuo's evil deeds.

But it's useless to hate, it's true that there is too much learning and lack of books now.

Le Shen suggested: "Your Majesty still has to recruit more Confucianism in ancient and modern scriptures and literature, although the great Confucians have their own classics and become a family, but the original texts of the books and they are also inheriting the doctrines of each school, so that the strengths of a hundred schools of thought may be able to restore the prosperity of Taixue at the beginning." ”

"Hmm."

Cao Pi nodded, this matter should indeed be taken seriously.

Seeing that he was very talkative, he said, "In addition to this, there is another matter, I hope Your Majesty will be cautious. ”

Cao Pi asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Le Shen said: "Nowadays, many Confucian scholars in the north take the "Shen Sutra", "Zhuziyan" and even the new "Treatise on Man" as classics, and govern them day and night. In particular, the "Treatise on Man", in which the remarks are strange, are borrowed from the clothes of Confucianism, distorting the meaning of the sage, and in the long run, I am afraid that it will be unfavorable to Your Majesty. ”

"Hmm......"

Hearing this, Cao Pi frowned.

Shen Chen is now a well-known Confucian in China, and the appearance of "Shen's Sutra" and "Zhuziyan" has established his status as a great Confucian.

These two books are actually books that discuss the spiritual and cultural core of Confucianism, which are close to Wang Yangming's psychology and belong to the interpretation of Confucian culture.

Cao Cao also thought that this book was good in his early years, and it did not harm the content of his rule, so not only did he read it, but also let Cao Pi and Cao Zhi study it to strengthen their political ability and master new ideas.

As a result, Shen Chen's influence in the north is increasing, and he is regarded as the first great Confucian of contemporary times by many Confucian scholars, and there is a development trend in the direction of the fourth sage of Confucianism.

The Han Dynasty itself did not have a literary prison, and the spread of culture was also limited by bamboo slips, such as Cao Pi's Taixue has not been organized, that is, the major families regard the classics of their own families as treasures, and are unwilling to take them out and share them, resulting in cultural barriers.

Therefore, there are very few people like Shen Chen who generously spread Confucianism and distribute and sell all kinds of classics that have been printed into books.

This caused the contradiction and division of the Cao Wei group.

Militarily, they regarded Shen Chen as a great enemy and repeatedly struck at him.

But culturally, they regard Shen Chen's books as orthodox, even if they don't say it, they can even rule the rulers of Cao Wei, not to mention the big families and powerful families below.

Therefore, in the face of Shen Chen, the attitude of the Cao Wei group is still very complicated, and the different treatment of military culture produces a feeling of insanity.

But after the "Theory of Man" came out, it was different.

"The Theory of Man" greatly shook Cao Wei's rule, making the people at the bottom more impetuous, and many people even dragged their families with their families, broke away from the Northern Dynasty, and ran to the south.

A series of circumstances caught Cao Pi off guard and had to find a way to fight.

It's just that with Shen Chen's current influence in Confucianism, it is almost impossible to erase Shen's influence.

Because today's great Confucians are at most looking at the ancient classics, that is, explaining Confucian culture.

And Shen Chen directly wrote several classics by himself, and he is one of the creators of Confucian culture, with Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi.

So I want to fight or erase it, unless another saint comes out, but that's completely unrealistic.

Therefore, Cao Pi can only choose to lie flat and let it go.

Now that Le Shen mentioned it, he reminded him of this terrible thing, and said: "I naturally know about this matter, but Shen Chen's house is the great Confucian of the world, and the Confucian scholars are now governing Shen Xue, that is, Ma Xue and Zheng Xue are not cured, and it is not easy to match it." ”

Le thought for a while and said, "The minister thinks that His Majesty can follow the example of Emperor Wu." Use it if it is useful, and discard it if it is useless. The pragmatism, ideological teachings, and unity of knowledge and action advocated by "Zhuziyan" and "Shen's Sutra" are all good and can be retained. The "Treatise on Man" is not good for His Majesty, and it is better to prohibit its dissemination, copying, and discussion in the north. ”

"Forbidden?"

Cao Pi supported his chin with his left hand, and gently tapped the table in front of him with his right hand, falling into deep thought.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, knowledge has been extremely valuable. Except for the historical record of Qin Shi Huang burning some books, there is no official ban on a book.

In later generations, there was a marketing account for the "Book of Shang Jun" was the first banned book in China, which was banned during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but in fact, "The Book of Shang Jun" was not only very popular in the Han Dynasty, but also one of the main scriptures to be studied by the royal family of the Han Dynasty at that time.

For example, before Chao Cuo studied "Shangshu" in Fusheng, he followed a teacher named Zhang Hui to learn "Shenzi" and "Shang Junshu", and the prime minister Wei Juan during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wrote that the people would endanger the country if they studied the words of Shen, Shang, Han Fei, Su Qin, and Zhang Yi, and asked Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to depose him.

Even Liu Bei instructed Adou before his death that he could read the "Book of Han" and "The Book of Rites", and in his spare time, he watched Zhuzi and "Liutao" and "Shangjunshu", which was beneficial to people's minds. It can be seen that the imperial court did not list the Book of Shang Jun as a banned book at that time, but it was only Confucianism that those who took scholars must learn, so there were many Confucians at that time, and relatively few people studied law.

Even Qin Shi Huang's burning of books did not mean that these books were completely destroyed, but that the books that were not in the museum's collection and were destroyed by the people, and basically the books that were destroyed were backed up in Qin Shi Huang's museum. It was Xiang Yu who really burned the book, and he burned Xianyang, resulting in the loss of many classics.

Therefore, at least in the historical materials, it is clearly recorded that the book that really began to be banned was the "Cutting the Lantern New Words" that was completely banned from the orthodox seventh year of Zhu Qizhen, the son of heaven in the Ming Dynasty.

This means that if Cao Pi lists Shen Chen's "Treatise on Man" as a banned book, it will open the first banned book in history.

"Hmm."

After a while, Cao Pi nodded slowly and said: "The text contains a reasonable statement, this kind of fatherless and kingless theory should indeed be banned, after I returned, I issued an edict not to allow the "Theory of Man" to be collected and circulated in the major families, and Taixue cannot talk about the scriptures and meanings of this book, and all those who have this book will be burned. If it is hidden, it will be dealt with by conspiring against it. ”

"Your Majesty is wise, but after all, the "Treatise on Man" has a wide impact, and many Confucian students have studied it, if the responsibility is too great, it may cause a large number of Confucian students to be frightened, in case they collude with the Southern Dynasty, it will be even worse, I still hope that Your Majesty will be cautious."

Although Shen Chen's "Treatise on Man" is already close to Confucianism, it refutes Dong Zhongshu's three outlines and five constants to the fullest, and advocates the equality of personality, and the Son of Heaven is guilty of the same crime as the common people, which is obviously contrary to the Confucian idea of clear hierarchy and the death of the monarch and the death of the king.

Therefore, for traditional Confucian scholars, the "Treatise on Man" was not liked by them. On the contrary, it is those young Confucian students who are highly shaped and more receptive to new things. Once they enshrined a book like "On Man" as a crown, it was afraid that it would not be conducive to the rule of the imperial court, so Le Shen hoped that Cao Pi would ban it.

However, it is not easy to completely ban a book with a wide audience, because the previous books were all bamboo slips, which are not easy to preserve and are still scarce, so even if there are books that are not conducive to the rule, the scope of dissemination is small, and the rulers of the imperial court do not need to ban it.

But now, with Shen Chen's perfection of papermaking and the invention of printing, more than 20 years later, the printing capacity and the quantity of paper in the south have been completely popularized.

There is not much difference in the north, at least a large number of powerful families already have books made of paper in their hands, such as books like "On Man", the printing house has not stopped, and has been dumping in the north.

So this task is still very difficult for Cao Pi. Even if you are not careful, you may even rebel against the Confucian scholars and shake their rule.

Therefore, Le Shen hopes that Cao Pi will still be careful and not make it too big at the beginning.

Cao Pi felt that there was some truth in what Le Shen said, and after thinking about it, he asked: "In that case, what should I do according to the public opinion contained in the text?" ”

Le Shen said: "If Your Majesty wants to ban the "Theory of Man", you should not use coercion, but skill. For example, if the imperial court takes scholars, those who govern the "Theory of Man" will not be admitted. Even if he was in charge of the "Theory of Man" before, it is the best policy to change the book to govern it, and at the same time gather the great Confucians, compile books, refute the "Theory of Man", and then destroy its foundation step by step. ”

"Oh?"

Cao Pi himself is a great writer, and he immediately thought that this idea was good.

The people who were in charge of the "Theory of Humanity" before could not be officials, so for the sake of their careers, Confucian scholars could only take the initiative to choose to give up studying this scripture.

And it is obviously much better to convene the great Confucians to refute the views in the "Theory of Man" and bring back the thoughts of the Confucian scholars who were influenced by the "Theory of Man" than to directly and forcibly block them.

Because of the ban on books, the more you ban them, the more curious people become. On the contrary, it is better to carry out targeted treatment than to directly ban it.

Thinking of this, Cao Pi nodded and said, "Well, what Wen Zaigong said is reasonable, but it is still forbidden to be banned, but it is not punished." Banning his books first, and then destroying his words, so that this scourge should be solved. ”

"That's how Your Majesty should be."

Happy and saluting.

In this way, "The Theory of Man" became the first book in history to be officially banned.

The following sacrifices continue.

Cao Pi listened to the advice of the great Confucian and planned to go back to deal with the problem of the lack of books in Taixue and the prohibition of the "Treatise on Man".

But before the Taixue sacrifice was over, Xu Chu had already hurried over below.

"What?"

Hearing the situation reported by Xu Chu in his ear, Cao Pi was shocked and said, "Is the news conclusive?" ”

Xu Chu nodded: "Not only Nanyang, but also Jianye and Hanzhong, are transporting grain, grass, materials, and ordnance, Shangshu's right servant said that I am afraid that at the end of this year or the beginning of next year, Liu Bei will attack." ”

Knowing that it was Sima Yi's judgment, Cao Pi couldn't sit still, and immediately said: "Go back to the palace!" ”

At that moment, he didn't even attend the opening ceremony of the rest of the Taixue, and left in a hurry, which made the Taixue students below immediately talk about it, suspecting that something big had happened in the court.